Chair leg or the like



Dec. 20, 1960 Filed June 29, 1956 F. S. KNOLL CHAIR LEG OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

FLORENCE s. KNOLL ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1960 F. s. KNQLL 2,965,161

CHAIR LEG OR THE LIKE Filed June 29, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. FLORENCE S. KNOLL ATTORNEY Filed June 29, 1956 Dec. 20, 1960 F. s. KNOLL 2,965,161

CHAIR LEG OR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 v IN V EN TOR. FLORENCE S. KNOLL ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1960 F. s. KNOLL CHAIR LEG OR THE LIKE '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 29, 1956 FIG. 17

I N 1/ EN TOR. FLORENCE S. KNOLL W M ATTORNEY Dec. 20, 1960 F. s. KNOLL CHAIR LEGVOR THE LIKE 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 29, 1956 FIG L mm m S I N E ATTORNEY United States Patent CHAIR LEG OR THE LIKE Florence S. Knoll, New York, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Knoll Associates, Inc., a corporation of New York Filed June 29, 1956, Ser. No. 594,740

4 Claims. (Cl. 155-191) This invention relates to chairs, sofas or the like.

This is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 451,237, filed August 20, 1954, entitled Support for an Article of Furniture, now U.S. Patent No. 2,796,307, issued June 18, 1957.

An object of the invention is to provide a chair or sofa construction which is improved from the standpoint of the comfort of the person sitting in the chair.

Another object is to provide an upholstered chair or sofa which is improved from the standpoint of its appearance.

A further object is to provide, in an upholstered chair of the type described, an improved frame structure in which some of the frame members are concealed.

Another object is to provide, in an upholstered chair of the type described, improved means for fastening the upholstery fabric to the chair which also improves the appearance of the chair.

Another object is to provide an improved chair structure which lends itself to ease and economy of manufacture.

Another object is to provide an improved post structure which is usable as a leg in a chair or the like.

Another object is to provide an improved framework for a chair or sofa.

Another object is to provide improved seat and back cushion structures for a chair or sofa.

The foregoing objects are attained in the structures described herein by providing a framework including a pair of vertical back legs connected at the top by a back crossbar, a pair of front legs, and a pair of side rails connecting the respective front legs to their aligned back legs and slanting downwardly toward the rear. A pair of forward and rearward seat crossbars are connected between the side rails, these crossbars being spaced inwardly of the front and rear edges of the seat so that they are concealed by the seat. The seat comprises a cushion built on a frame which includes a back frame member supported on the rear seat crossbar, a pair of side frame members supported on the side rails and projecting beyond the front legs and a third frame member connecting the front ends of the side frame members. The back comprises a cushion mounted on a frame which includes -a bottom frame member supported on the rear seat crossbar, a pair of upright frame members extending diagonally upwardly and rearwardly from the ends of the bottom frame member and a top frame member connecting the tops of the upright frame members. An intermediate frame member extends between the upright frame members centrally of their length, and is attached rigidly to the back crossbar.

To promote the comfort of the sitter, the seat is tilted downwardly toward the rear at an angle of 7 /2 with the horizontal. The back of the chair makes an angle of 113 with the seat. The back is provided just below its center with a forwardly opening obtuse angle of substantially 162 /2 In one modification of the invention, the chair frame is of metal and the legs are columns, each consisting of two spaced parallel metal bars connected at their ends by bases or caps which may comprise a generally T-shaped member having the upright of the T located between the bars and the crossbar of the T spaced from the ends of the bars. The upright of the T is held in place by screws, rivets or the like. This column structure enables the legs to be manufactured with greater tolerances in the overall long dimensions of the legs than is possible in structures of the prior art.

The upholstered covering on the seat and back cushions is held in place by the use of crossing rows of ornamental stitching, and draw threads, each extending from the back or under side of the cushion, through the fabric covering and across an intersection of two of the rows of stitches, and then back through the cushion to the under or back side thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a chair embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the chair of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of a chair similar to the chair of Fig. 2, except that it is provided with arms;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view or a sofa constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the frame of the chair of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the back cushion frame of the chair of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the seat cushion frame of the chair of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 7a is a perspective view of the arm frame used in the chair of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the chair of Figs. 1 and 2, with the cushions shown in dotted lines, and taken on a considerably enlarged scale;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken onthe line lX-lX of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line XX of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the structure of the upper end of one of the back legs of the chair of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11a is a view similar to Fig. 11, illustrating a modification;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a sofa frame embodying the invention;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention in a sofa frame;

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line XIV-XIV of Fig. 12, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 15 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation, illustrating a modified form of column structure embodying the invention;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a chair frame similar to the frame of Fig. 5, but constructed of wood, instead of metal;

Fig. 17 is a side elevational view of the frame of Fig. 16, on an enlarged scale, and with seat and back cushion frames added;

Fig. 18 is a cross-sectionalview, on an enlarged scale,

' taken on the line XVHI-XVIII of Fig. 17;

' Fig. 19 is a fragmentary view, taken on an enlarged scale, showing the outside of an upholstered cushion constructed in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line XX-XX of Fig. 19.

3 Figs. 1, 2 and to These figures illustrate a chair embodying the principal features of my invention. The frame of the chair comr se w b c legs 1 and 2 ig. connected by a ack crossbar 3 attached at its ends to the tops of the legs by a structure to be described in detail below. The frame also includes front legs 4 and 5 whose upper ends are connected to intermediate points on the back legs by side rails d and 7, respectively. A forward seat crossbar 8 is attached at its ends to the side rails 6 and 7 at points spaced rearwardly of the upper ends of the legs .4 and 5. A rearward seat crossbar 9 is attached at its ends to the side rails 6 and 7 at a point spaced forwardly of the rear legs 1 and 2.

Mounted on the frame is a seat generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 (Fig. 1) and consisting of a wooden frame generally indicated by the reference numeral 11 (see Fig. 7) and a cushion 12, both covered by suitable upholstery material. Also mounted on the frame is a back generally indicated at 13 and comprising a wooden frame 14 and a cushion 15, both also covered by upholstery material. The cushions 12 and 15 are mounted on their respective frames 11 and 14 by con ventional structures, not shown.

The chair of Fig. 3 differs from the chair of Fig. 2 only by the addition of a pair of arms 16, each consisting of a wooden frame 17 (Fig. 7a) covered with upholstery material. 2

The sofa of Fig. 4 is constructed generally similarly to the chair of Figs. 1 and 2 except that the crossbars are considerably elongated, center legs 18 and 19 (see Fig. 13) are provided and the back and seat cushions are divided into three sections each. i

Legs 01' column structzrre-Figs. 5, 8 and Each of the four legs or columns 1, 2, 4 and 5 is constructed from two spaced parallel metal bars of rectangular cross-section held together at their ends by base and cap structures. The back legs are also held together at intermediate points where they are joined by the side rails.

The leg structure is described in detail herein only in the case of the front leg 4, best seen in Fig. 5. This leg 4 includes two rectangular metal bars 4a, 4b, which are attached by which are attached by means of screws or other conventional fasteners such as rivets '20 to a foot 21. The foot 21 has an inverted T-shaped crosssection. The upright of the T. is received between the metal the metal bars 4a, 4b and is held in place by the rivets 20. The crossbar of the T rests on the floor. Note that the spacing between the rivets 20 and the lower ends of the bars 4a and 4b is less than the spacing between the rivets 20 and the upper surface of the crossbar of the T. The upper end of the leg 4 is attached to the front end of the side rail 6 by means of rivets 22. Note also as best seen at 4c in Fig. 8, that the metal bars 4a and 4b terminate short of the upper edge of the side rail 6. In other words, the spacing between the rivets 22 and the ends 40 of the bars 4a, 4b is less than the spacing between the rivets 22 and the upper surface of the side rail.

By constructing the legs in this manner, the dimensional tolerance between the ends of the bars 4a and 4b may be considerably greater than the dimensional tolerance be: tween the ends of the leg members in the prior art structures. The only dimensions which have to be carefully maintained in the bars 4a and 4b are the spacings be.- tween the holes for the rivets 20 and the holes for the rivets 22. The exact spacing between the ends of the bars 4a. and 4b may vary over a substantial range without affecting the overall height of the leg or column. The spacing between the rivet holes forthe foot 21and the bottom of the foot must also be maintained within close tolerance as must the spacing betweerr the holes'for the rivets 22 in the side rail 6 and the upper side of that side rail. However, these are relatively short dimensions and are easily maintained within close tolerances. The spacing between'the holes for the rivets 20 and the holes for the rivets 22 in the bars 4a and 4b may be easily maintained within close tolerances by the simple expedient of forming all the holes at once on a gang drill.

By virtue of this structure of the legs or columns and their b e memb r? an ir wnn c at t i pp ends, these legs or columns are substantially easier and cheaper to manufacture, for a given overall dimensional tolerance, than are corresponding structural members of the prior art.

The back end of the side rail 6 is fastened to the back leg 1 by means of rivets 23. The holes in the back leg 1 for the rivets 23 must be located carefully, with respect to their spacing from the foot holding rivets 20.

The connection shown in" Fig. 8 between the back crossbar 3 and the upper endof the leg l 'is illustrated in detail in Fig. 11. The leg 1 'is there shown as comprising two metal bars 1a and 1b, of rectangular crosssection, held together at their upper ends by means of rivets 24. 'The'rivet's 24 retain between the upper ends of the bars 1a and 15 an L-shaped bracket 25 which projects forwardly from'between the bars 1a and 1b and has on its forward end a laterally extending arm 25a. The ba'ck'crossbar 3 is an angle iron of L-shaped cross-section and is held in place on the bracket 25 and the corresponding bracket at the other end by means of machine screws 26, one of which is shown in Fig. 11, and which is threaded into the leg 25 1 of bracket 25.

Fig. lla illustrates'a modified form of connection between the back crossbar 3 and the upper end of the leg 1. In this modification, a I -shaped piece 21a, generally similar structure to the foot 21, has its upright received between the ends of the bars 1a and 1b and its crosspiece extending horizontally. The end of the back crossbar 3 is fastened to the upright of the T-shaped piece 21a by a screw 26, and the horizontal flange of the crossbar 3 rests against the top of the crossbar of the T-shaped piece 21a. As in the previous modifications, the dimension between the holes which receive the rivets 24 and the ends of the bars 1a and 1b is not critical. For purposes of external appearance, it is desirable to make the clearances between the ends of the bars 1a and 1b and the crossbar of the T-shaped piece 2 1a as small as conveniently possible. Nevertheless, that dimension is not afunctional one, and need not be closely held. In Fig. 11c, 'as'in similar structures throughout the specification and drawings, the spacing between the end of the bar In and the crossbar of the T-shaped piece 21a has been somewhat exaggerated in order to emphasize the noncritical character of the latter dimension. The foot 21 and the bracket 25 cooperate to render the overall dimensional length of the bars 1a and 1b relatively unimportant. The holes for the rivets 24 must be accurately located, as must the holes for the rivets and for the screw 26 in the bracket 25. Likewise, the holes in the crossbar 3 for the screws 26 must be located accurately.

The front crossbar 8 is attached at its ends to the side rails 6 and 7 in a manner best illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10. L-shaped brackets 27 are welded to the side rails 6 and 7; The projecting arms of the brackets are threaded to receive bolts 28 which extend through suitableapertures in the crossbar 8 and are held in place by nuts 29. The back crossbar 9 is attached to the side rails 6 and 7 in a similar fashion by means of brackets 30 (see Fig. 8) welded to the side rails 6 and 7 and apertured to receive bolts 31 which extends through the crossbar 9 near its ends and are held in place by nuts '32.

The seat frame 11 consists of front and rear frame members 33 and 34 and side frame members 35, held as. t e a t e" rjn l any sui a e soa ea ns fashion. The side frame members are held in place by wood screws 36 (see Fig. which extend through apertures provided in the ends of the crossbars 8 and 9. The back frame member 34 is held in place by means of wood screws 37 which extend through the back cross bar 9.

The seat cushion 12 may comprise a layer of foam rubber with a covering of suitable sheet material, which covering also extends over the outer surfaces of the seat frame 11, being fastened thereto in a conventional manner. The back side of the cushion 12 is contoured to conform with the front of the back frame 14.

The back frame The back frame 14 (see Fig. 6) comprises a bottom frame member 38, a pair of upright frame members 39 and 40, a top frame member 41 connecting the upper ends of the upright frame members 39 and 40 and intermediate frame members 42 extending between the frame members 39 and 40, and a forwardly bowed rail 43, which spans the lower panel of the back frame at an intermediate point, just above the level of the upper surface of the seat cushion 12, as best shown in Fig. 8.

The intermediate frame member 42 divides the back frame into upper and lower panels. The side rails 39 and 40 are provided with forwardly opening obtuse angles of substantially 162% adjacent the ends of the frame member 42. The bottom ends of the upright frame members 39 and 40 abut against the back ends of the side frame members 35 of the seat cushion frame. The lower ends of the upright frame members 39 make an angle of substantially 113 with the side rails 6 and 7. The back ends of the side frame members 35 and the back side of rear frame member 34, are contoured with an equal dihedral angle so that the back frame and seat frame fit each other closely.

The bottom frame member 38 is bolted to the back frame member 34 of the seat by means of bolts 44 (see Fig. 8). Wood screws 45 extend through the back crossbar 3 and are threaded into the intermediate frame member 42 of the back frame. The back cushion conforms generally to the back frame 14, and is constructed with an angle in its central portion corresponding to the angle of 162 /2 in the back frame. The lower edge of cushion 15 does not extend all the way to the bottom of frame 14, however, but terminates at the upper surface of the seat cushion 12.

It has been found that the back and seat cushion structures such as those illustrated and described, including a back having an upper portion more nearly vertical than the lower portion and related thereto by an angle of substantially 162 /2, together with a seat making an angle with the lower portion of the back substantially 113, and itself making an angle with the horizontal of 7 /2, provides increased comfort for the sitter as compared to prior art seat and back structures. The angle of l62 /2 in the middle of the back is particularly important, since it provides a back structure which follows reasonably closely the contour of the back of a sitting person, so that the back of such a person is supported throughout its length. The bowed rail 43 provides support for the lower edge of the back cushion and prevents it from being bulged out backwardly.

The back cushion 15 may comprise a layer of foam rubber with a covering of suitable sheet material, which covering also extends over the outer surfaces of the back frame 14, being fastened thereto in a conventional manner.

Sofas-Figs. 12 to 14 Fig. 12 illustrates a sofa constructed in a manner similar to the chair of Figs. 1 to 11. Those parts of the sofa frame illustrated in this figure which correspond fully to their counterparts in the previous figures have been given the same reference numerals and will not be. fullyde- 6 scribed. The leg structures and the side rails are generally the same as in the chair.

A top crossbar 47 connects the upper ends of the legs 1 and 2 and seat crossbars 48 and 49 connect the side rails 6 and 7. These crossbars differ from the crossbars 3, 8 and 9 of Fig. 5 principally in being longer. The seat frame for the sofa of Fig. 12 is generally indicated at 50 and differs from the seat frame 11 of Fig. 7 principally in being longer. The seat frame 50 is provided with a central transverse rail 51 which has its ends received in grooves or rabbets, one of which is shown at 52, formed in the under sides of the front and back frame members 53 and 54. On the under side of the transverse rail 51, there is fixed, as shown in Fig. 14, a small plate 55. The plate 55 has its rearward end offset downwardly as shown at 55a in Fig. 14, to form a hook for receiving the leading edge of the forward crossbar 48. The plate 55 is held in place on the rail 51 by means of a screw 56.

The back frame 57 of the sofa of Fig. 12 is generally similar to the back frame 14 of Fig. 6, but additionally includes a center upright frame member 58, which separates the back frame into two laterally adjacent panels. The frame 57 also includes upright frame members 59 and 60 at its ends, top and bottom frame members 61 and 62, intermediate transverse frame members 63 and 64 and forwardly bowed rails 65 and 66. The intermediate upright frame member 58 extends between the top and bottom frame members 61 and 62, being attached thereto in any suitable manner. Each of the two laterally adjacent panels of the frame 57 corresponds generally to one of the back frames for a chair as shown in Fig. 6.

The sofa of Fig. 13 is generally similar to the sofa of lug. 12, except that it IS somewhat longer, having back and seat frames of three panels each instead of two panels. At the center of the middle panel, this sofa 18 provided with another set of front and rear legs ls and 19, which are connected by a transverse rail 67.

'1 he seat frame is generally indicated at 66 and is generally similar to the seat frame 50 except that it is longer and has two spaced transverse reinforcing members 69, corresponding to the reinforcing member 51 of Fig. 12. The sor'a of big. 13 is provided with crossbars 70, 71 and 72, corresponding to the crossbars 47, 46 and 49 of Fig. 12, except that they are longer.

Fig 15 This figure illustrates a leg structure generally similar to that or the legs 1, 2, 4 and 5 except that it is adapted for use in a table or other article of furniture. The leg shown in Fig. l5 is generally indicated by the reference numeral 73 and includes a palr of bars 74 of rectangular cross-section, generally similar to the bars 4a, 4b of Fig. 5. The bars 74 are spaced apart at thelr lower ends by a base member 75 of T-shaped cross-section, which is attached to tne bars 74 by means of a screw 76. The upper ends of the bars 74 are held in spaced relation by means of a T-shaped cap member 77 held in place by a screw 78. The T-shaped base member 75 and the cap member 77 are similar 11]. structure and function to the feet 21 previously described. The leg structure 73 may also include an intermediate spaced '79 held in place by a screw 80.

As in the case of the leg 4 and the foot 21, described above, the spacing between the holes in tne bars 74 which receive the screws 76 and 77 is held to a close tolerance. Similarly, the spacing between the holes in the foot and cap members 75 and 77 and the crossbars 75a and 77a of those cap members is likewise held to a close tolerance. There is thereby provided a leg structure in which the overall dimension between the bottom of the base 75a and the top of the cap 77a is carefully determined. At the same time, the overall lengths of the bars 74 may vary over a wide range of tolerances due to the fact that the spacing between the screw holes in the base and cap members 75 and 77 and the crossbars of their respective T-shaped members is made greater than the spacing beween t wr o d screw hole in the bars 14 a the ends of those bars.

Figs. 16 and 17 These figures illustrate a wooden frame for a chair, including many features of the metal frame illustrated in previous figures. The frame of Figs. 16 and 17 includes back legs 81 and 82, front legs 8 3 and 84, side rails 85 and 86, a top crossbar 87 and front and rear seat crossbars 88 and 39. This frame, best seen in Fig. 16, supports a seat cushion frame 11 and a back cnsl ion frame 14, which are substantially the same as the structures illustrated in Figs. 7 and 6, respectively. The frame members of the seat and back are held together by dowels, pins and tenons in any suitable conventional manner. The angular relationships described in connection with the chair and sofa set forth above are maintained in the frame of Figs. 16 and 17. That is to say, the seat frame slants toward the rear at an angle of 82 /2 9 with the vertical front leg. The lower portion of the back frame makes an angle of 113 with the seat frame and the upper and lower portions of the back frame make an ang e of 162 /z with each other. The back crossbar 87 is attached to the intermediate crossbar 42 of the back frame by means of a number of bracket 90 (see Fig. 17). Each bracket 90 is provided with a central double bend, so that one end is flush with the inner surface of the top crossbar 87 and the other end is fiush with the back of the intermediate crossbar 42. These ends of the brackets 90 are held in place on their respective crossbars by means of wood screws.

In those chairs or sofas where an intermediate reinforcement in the seat cushion frame is desired, the back side of the front crossbar 88 has attached to it an L-shaped plate 91 (see Fig. 18). The L-shaped plate 91 is inverted, so that the short leg of the L-shaped plate projects horizontally from its upper end. The leg 91a of the L is adapted to overlie and engage the upper surface of a reinforcing bar 51 for the seat frame such as that shown in detail in Fig. 12.

Figs. 19 and 20 These figures illustrate a cushion constructed in accordance with a feature of the invention. The cushion comprises a pad 92, of any conventional material, such as sponge rubber or the like. The top and bottom surfaces of the cushion 92 are covered with sheets of np-. holstery fabric 93, and 94, which may be of the same or different materials. The upholstery fabric 93 on the Wearing side of the cushion is provided with longitudinal and transverse rows of stitching 94, extending at right angles to each other and intersecting as shown for example at 95. At each intersection 95, the upholstry fabric layers 93 and 94 are fastened to the pad 92 by means of draw threads 96. Each draw thread 96 extends from the underside of the cushion, through the cushion, over the intersection 95 of the thread 974 and back through the pad 92 to the under side of the fabric 94. Underneath the fabric 94, a suitable anchor is provided to retain the ends of the draw thread 96. Such an anchor is illustrated at 97, consisting simply of a rolled patch of the covering fabric. On the under side ofthe ornamental fabric 93, adjacent each of the intersections 95, there is provided a reinforcing patch 98, to prevent the draw threads from pulling through the material. The patch 98 is held in place by the stitching 94 A cushion constructed in this manner presents a novel ornamental effect by virtue of the crossed rows of stitching 94, with each intersection of the crossed rows dimpled or depressed by means of a draw thread 96. This clirnpled effect is achieved without the. use of tufts or buttons at the dimpled localities, as is common in prior a t F 9 I th s me genera yp While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, other modifications there.- of will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A leg for an article of furniture comprising two spaced parallel elongated bars of approximately equal length and having facing flat surfaces, each of said bars having at least two holes .therein extending at right angles to said facing flat surfaces and at localities spaced from the respective ends of the bars by distances relatively short as compared to the spacing between the holes along the bar, the distances between the two holes on both bars being equal, two load-transmitting means, means fastening the bars and the two load-transmitting means in a permanent assembly with one load-transmitting means at each end of said assembled bars, each load-transmitting means comprising a spacer portion and a load-carrying portion rigidly connected to the spacer portion, each spacer portion having flat surfaces on opposite sides thereof and a hole extending at right angles to the flat surfaces, and being located between the two spaced bars with its hole aligned with the holes at one end of the assembled bars, each load-carrying portion extending from said spacer portion substantially beyond the adjacent ends of the two bars and terminating in an end surface transverse to the lengths of the bars, said fastening means including a pair of rigid connector means, one for each load-transmitting means, each connector means comprising a pin member extending through the aligned holes of the bars and the spacer portion, and means cooperating with the pin member to hold the bars and the spacer portion in a rigid assembly with the facing flat surfaces of the bars abutting the opposite flat surfaces of the spacer portion, so that the thickness of the spacer portion determines the spacing between the bars, said two loadtransmitting means having substantial clearance at the opposite ends of the assembled bars by virtue of said extending load carrying portions, so as to prevent force being transmitted from the load-carrying portions directly to the ends of the bars and so as to transmit the force only through said spacer portion and connector means, and so that the dimension between the two end surfaces of said load-carrying portions is determined by the sum of (1) the spacing along the bars between the two pairs of aligned holes therein, and (2) the two spacings between the respective holes in the spacer portions and the associated end surfaces of the load-carrying portions; and is independent of the dimensions between the ends of the bars.

2. A leg for an article of furniture as defined in claim 1, in which the load-transrnitting means at the bottom of the leg comprises a T-shaped foot having the stem of the T secured between the bars by the associated connector means and the crossbar of the T located beyond the adjacent bar ends at a locality providing said substantial clearance between the crossbar and the bar ends.

3. A leg for an article of furniture as defined in claim 1, in which at least one of said load-transmitting means comprises a first L-shaped member having one leg of the L secured between the bars by the associated connector means, said one leg extending laterally of the bars, the other leg of the L-shaped member being connected to the one leg at a locality spaced from the bars, and a second L-shaped member having one leg attached to said other leg of the first L-shaped member and extending beyond the adjacent bar ends, the other leg of the second L.- shaped member being connected to the one leg thereof at a locality beyond the ends of the bars, said other leg of the second member being disposed in a locality aligned with the bars and spaced therefrom and from said first |,-shaped member, thereby providing said substantial clean-a e.

4. A 1. 3 for an article of furniture as defined in claim 9 1, in which at least one of the load-transmitting means comprises a third bar having a first portion secured between the bars by the associated connector means and a second portion extending beyond the ends of the bars and terminating in said end surface of the load-carrying member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 425,719 Wentworth Apr. 15, 1890 521,849 Cretcher et a1 June 26, 1894 1,025,645 Rilling May 7, 1912 1,032,801 Allingham July 16, 1912 10 Look Feb. 15, Anderson July 15, Fowler May 19, Hursh et al July 24, Rutherford et al. J an. 14, Vance May 17, Rand July 18, Dean June 30, Sabner July 8, Riggle July 15, Colson Apr. 20, Gitlin Feb. 12, Knoll June 18, 

